New member here. Bought this car roughly in 2007. It's a 1985 Rx-7 GSL-SE, bought it with no motor or transmission. Found grannysspeedshop.com and decided on a Chevy powerplant and standard transmission. Started rust repair and restoration in high school shop class but ended up getting getting put on the back burner due to not being able to find an affordable manual transmission. And lack of money to put into the project.

So about a year ago I ended up getting a Chevy T-5 from a buddy out of his 87 Camaro and found a pair of SBC's for cheap. One a 1967 283 and the other one a four bolt main 350. Finally got the car home and into my garage about a month ago and quickly got it mostly stripped down. Have decided on full restoration. All rust and damage will be getting properly repaired. Everything going back on the car will be new/painted/powedercoated.

Decided on using the 283 since it should be a slightly faster/higher revving engine. Will be doing a full build on the motor, looking to make anywhere between 3-400hp and hopefully rev out to about 7k. The T-5 is in working order but apparently did occasionally pop out of second gear. Will probably rebuild the transmission as well.

This will definitely not be a fast build since I haven't won the lottery yet lol but I will try to update often and hope you all like the build

 

Has been in a small accident before. Minor front end damage.

Very very dirty.

 

Getting ready to clean off many years of dirt and grime.



Almost ten years of sitting shows 😑

 

All cleaned up! Looking much better after a good wash.


Engine bay looking way better



Dirty interior. Definitely seen better days. Seats and door panels are definitely cooked

Disassembled the back half of the interior back in high school.

 

Front sits a few inches high due to no motor and transmission

Love the Supra rim offset!


RH side with second gen Toyota supra rims

LH side with factory GSL-SE rims

 

Starting disassembly

Lists for things needing to be done, Parts needed for car, and parts needed for powertrain/drivetrain.

 

Wiring is definitely one thing I'm dreading the most. 😖

Rear bumper off

Rear axle/suspension dropped

Front bumper and hood removed, and front suspension/steering/crossmember dropped

 

Quick little stand made for the differential from my firewood pile 😎

 

Look forward to seeing how the build goes. Good idea with the lists, I find they help keep me focused.

 

Yup! That and doing a cleanup every once in a while I find helps keep motivation up

 

Very much love this build you are into . It looks like you have work to do
I started with a clean1980 sa22
Hope you have good memories building and keep us in the loop

 

very cool, I run a T5 in my car. blown 3rd gear in one trans in 4 years of driving it. Let me know if you have questions